When you do secure a credit monitoring service and your credit is pulled; the inquiry will be a soft pull. A soft pull does not harm your credit score. It is done occasionally by insurance companies or rental agencies, and it is only visible to you. Do not be afraid to utilize a monitoring service because it will ‘hurt your score’ – that is a myth.

I know for me once I saw the damage on my report I knew I had to start the disputing process. My very next step was to secure a legitimate service to help me. I could then begin to track my progress when I was disputing the inaccuracies I found.

There are a few great monitoring services out there that you can choose from. I will dedicate a post specifically to credit monitoring services I have used in the past soon! Then you can make the executive decision on which one is best for you based upon my past experiences with their sites.

The first step in starting to repair your credit is to begin collecting the copies of credit reports from the various bureaus otherwise known as a CRA’s. After obtaining the three credit reports from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion start making evaluation of your financial position. You can dispute anything and everything that is negative but start with your personal information.

You will need to thoroughly review your reports. Each CRA (credit reporting agency) is it’s own entity and they do not do business together. Often times you will have variations of the same item on each report. Any item that is potentially negative should be disputed and the CRA. From here the bureau(s) check with the creditor to begin the investigation process.

It’s very imperative that you know what your report actually reflects. Next step is ‘Understanding how to read your report’.

When you get a credit card, you should be instructed on how to properly use it. Although you will be tempted to run up your balance on your credit card like I experienced. It should be saved for emergency situations.

Students in high school that are looking to start building their credit early can get high school student credit cards like I had. These credits cards can help teach the responsibilities of credit and how to manage credit early on. These types of credit cards are issued to high school students before going off to college.

**FACT: I established my credit in 2008. Can anyone tell me what happened in 2008?!

Before applying for a high school student credit card you should always look at their available options. There are a lot of banks and credit card companies to choose from, which makes it in your best interest to look around. I told you the reason I went with Wells Fargo – they have branches nationwide. Some cards will come with high APR and a high annual fee, while some are more reasonable. With high school students not having any credit, some lenders will try to charge unreasonable rates – which is reason enough to do your research and know the best deal.

It is important to build your financial intelligence at a young age. As you may already know for some – credit cards can be an ideal investment. As for others – it’s always going to be a hard lesson to learn. Although I knew what I was doing I continued to spend. It is necessary to keep yourself from buying frivolous things that you can’t afford initially! I was irresponsible, maxed out my limit and over drafted by $200, then started paying minimum payments. I relocated to a different state. I was out of work (at least work with decent pay). On top of all that I was a full-time student.

Even though I read the terms of use for my College Card I still was never taught in school about finances. I would hate to see more people fall into the ‘World of Debt’? Do not leverage over 30% of your line or ‘money borrowed’. At the end of every month, you should try to pay the whole bill, to avoid getting into debt. If you can pay the bill – it will also help boost your credit.

I want to update you on the networks I use regarding Credit Repair from CG. I have established a FB account for all who use FB religiously (https://www.facebook.com/TheCreditGoddess). I have also established a Twitter account for those who like to keep it pretty simple (@Credit_Goddess).

When I was working at Port of Subs prior to graduation. I went into my local Wells Fargo to establish a Student Checking account with the bank. Therefore no matter where I go in the Nation I will have access to a branch to make my deposits and withdraws. Wells Fargo at the time had a College Credit Card that they said I qualified for. I accepted that line of credit with $700 limit not knowing anything about what my credit report looked like; better yet not knowing my scores. The reasoning for me doing this (not just out of excitement) is because I knew credit was a big deal! I was eager to establish it at an early age.

Was I irresponsible? Yes! Did I fail to do as I so sternly said I wouldn’t? Yes. Did I have to fight them on the collection later? Yes. It was a snowball effect from there.

All of life’s necessities are based upon how you manage your finances and how you deal with creditors. In the eyes of a lender you have to be in a ‘three piece suit’ in order to be approved or even looked at. Even if you are a qualified borrower perhaps the strategy you are utilizing is not working. Do you understand the criteria for lenders?

In my position when I started working with Jantzen (my current employer) I had poor credit. It could have very well been due to derogatory items on my report. I had the company do a hard pull to see just where I was at. I ran into a lot of snags with the credit monitoring services I was attempting to use. They ‘could not locate my report’. The problem with that is; I did not know what was on my report specifically, especially since I had never viewed it. All the questions they ask you about your addresses, your creditors, account(s) that are new, and mortgages… I had no idea. By allowing the company I work for pull my credit I was capable of locating the report itself. From there on out I was able to start utilizing a monitoring service for any further repairs or references to updates.

When I initially pulled my report, like I mentioned, I had poor credit. My credit score was a 580 from Experian! This was the first time I had ever viewed my report, not just in detail, but PERIOD! I wasn’t surprised at what appeared on the report. I was very much surprised by how that one collection account had affected my score so dramatically. I had to do something about this. I always wanted good credit, but I failed to maintain the one chance I had at proving my stability. The creditors viewed me as ‘High Risk’. I couldn’t establish credit any further (at least that’s what I thought).

Now I will proudly say that I have good credit. Through the trial and error process of repairing my credit I have become very familiar with how I think the algorithm works. Again, it’s an algorithm therefore nobody can really tell you how the score is determined. I again though will state that I have successfully pulled myself out of the rut I CREATED FOR MYSELF.

Now I am here to explain to you how to do it yourself! In case you, like me, did this exact same thing.. Or something similar?

I hope you are all doing well! I left off explaining how I got to where I am today through my employment. The reason for my prior posts was to give you more insight on my blog and me as an individual. I want to explain to you the struggles I have experienced in the ‘Real World’. The path I pursued was a rocky one but I didn’t give in to the pressures around me. Whether that be the lack of employment, attending school full-time, or doing the daily with friends and family.

The hardships I experienced through transitioning from NV to UT were money oriented. I explained to you that I was lacking work and through that bills start piling up. Sound familiar? It was harder and harder for me to make my minimum payments. I could barely pay rent on time with a bi-weekly check, how could I manage to pay my credit card debt?!

I came out of this rut when I started work for Jantzen and learned a lot from him as a entrepreneur. First things first though, credit! Credit has a lot to do with the ‘Real World’. I hate to say this but your credit is like your fingerprint now. I’ve known businesses to use your credit report for hiring purposes. Of course you can’t get a car unless you have fairly good credit either, or even a home without money down. That concern isn’t just yours as a poor credit client; it’s a lot of people’s!

Nobody jumps for joy when they are denied or declined credit. I failed to understand this in the beginning when I put myself in the position I will later explain.. As for you perhaps there is still hope!

So how can you get everything you need with a poor credit score? The answer is simple. Do not run from you problems, handle them accordingly, and do your research! It’s important that you understand how the ‘Real World’ works. My purpose is to educate you on how to navigate through the messy process of credit repair.